Beet-harvester



Patented July 13, 1920.

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W. K. LEWIS AND D. T. BLEVINS. BEET HARVESTER.

APPLlCATlON FILED JULY 22, 19KB. 1,346,322.

W. K. LEWIS AND D. T. BLEVINS.

BEET HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22.1918.

w. K. LEWIS AND 0. T. BLEVINS BEET HARVESTER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 22.1918.

Patented July 13, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W. K. LEWIS AND D. T. BLEVINS.

BEET HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED IULY ZZ. I9I8.

Patented July 13, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

INVENTORS WK LEW/6 AND D. T ELEV/N5.

N EY

UNITED stares rranr ,QFFIQE.

WILLIAM K. LEWIS AND DAVID T. BLEVINS, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL BEET I-IARVES'TEB, COMPANY, A CORPOBATIGN OF COLORADO.

BEET-HARVESTER.

I Specification of Letters l atent.

Patented July 13,1920.

Application filed July 22, 1918. Serial No. 246,185.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, VVILLIAM KaLnwIs and DAVID T. BLnviNs, citizens of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and. State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beetllarvesters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to beet-harvesting machines and its principal object is to provide in a machine of this character, compact and efficient means by which beets and other root vegetables are lifted from the soil and separately conveyed to a suitable and conveniently placed receptacle.

lVith the above and other objects in view all of which will fully appear in the course of the following description our invention consists in the construction and combinations of devices shown in their preferred form in the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts, throughout the several views and in which- Figure 1 represents a plan view of our improved beet-harves'ting machine,-

Fig. 2. a side elevation of the same,

Fig. 3, a transverse section taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. at, a similar section on the line 1 1, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5, a fragmentary section along the line 5- 5, F l, and

Fig. 6, a section taken along the line 7-7, Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings 2 designates a frame preferably made of structural metal and supported adjacent its rear end upon traction wheels 3 and at its opposite end upon a pair of steering wheels 1 of the caster type which are alined with the others.

The wheels d are mounted for pivotal movement about vertical axes in bearings 5 at opposite ends of a cross-beam 6 of the supporting frame, and their spindles are provided with laterally extending arms 7 which are connected for simultaneous movemeut by a link 8.

The connections between the link and the arms are established through the intermediary of springs 9, and rods 10 connect the link with a foot-lever 12 mounted upon a cross-bar 13 of the frame adjacent the drivers seat 14:. The driver of the machine occupying theseat, guides the machine by along the rows of beets in pressing the ends of the crumed at 15, with the wheels their vertical axes. The traction wheels are mounted upon a shaft 16 which is journaled in bearings 17 on a bridge 18 which is a part of the supporting frame.

In the operation of the machine the shaft drives the different cooperative devices by which the beets are topped, lifted, cleaned and conveyed as will hereinafter be described.

The machine is operated by moving it a field to be harvested, by a traction engine or draft animals attached in front thereof.

An obliquely mounted, curved blade 19 at the front end of the machine cuts the foliage off the beet-plants and moves them to-one side out of the way of the topping appliance which removesthe crowns of the beetroots projecting above the surface of the ground.

Behind the foliage cutter is a topping appliance designated in its entirety by the numeral 20, and suspended from an adjusting lever a l, and rearward of the topping appliance is a rotating broom 38 which is connected with the same lever.

The topping appliance serves in the operation of the machine to sever the crowns of the beet roots before they are lifted from the ground, and the broom moves the severed beet tops to one side of the machine out of the way of the digging and conveying elements of the apparatus. 7

The digging element consists of a pair of cooperative laterally converging blades the lower edges of which are spaced from each other and slant downwardly in the direction of the movement of the machine.

The forward edges of the blades slant at an acute angle to the lower edges of the same and are sharpened to cut the soil into which their points project as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The blades are rigidly secured at the ends of parallel shanks 56 which are connected by an upright arch-shaped yoke 57 and which are suspended from a lever 58 that is fulcrumed on a shaft 59 extending between the upwardly extending portions of the cross bar 13 upon which the operating lever 14: is supported.

The shanks of the digging blades are 7 tween the side-bars 6 1 of the frame 2 and is the beets lifted tions to coeperatively extended below the same to provide thebearings 17 for thedriving axle of theinachine, with which the traction-wheels are rlgidly connected.

The bridgealso provides a support for the drivers seat 1a and it carries a bell-crank lever 65 which by means of a link 66 is connected with oneof the levers 58 from which the digging element is suspended.

The lever has a hand-adjusted pawl 67 which engages the notches of a peripherally toothed segment 68 to hold the parts in their adjusted positions.

The conveying apparatus which transfers from the soil by the action of the digging blades to a chute 69 at the rear end of the machine comprises three endless belt-conveyers 70, 71 and 72-two of which cooperate to move the beets separately to the thirdwhioh extends transversely with relation to the longitudinal axis of tne machine and delivers its load into the chute 697which discharges either onto the ground or into a wagon" or other suitable receptacle placed at the side of the machine. r The two cooperative conveyers 70 and 71 each consist of two parallel chains moving upon sprocket wheels and connected at regular intervals by transverse rods.

The conveyers are mounted slantingly one above the other as best shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings and they move elevate the beetswhich are lifted from the soil by the action of the digglng element.

The two conveyers are separately mounted in'frames on which their parallel shafts are rotatably supported. The frame of the lower conveyer consists of two parallel bars 73 the lower ends of which are fastened to machine,

the heels of the cutting blades 55.

The upper shaft 7% of the upper conveyer is rotatably mounted on standards 7 5 erected on the side bars of the frame of the and the'corresponding shaft 7 6 of the lower conveyer which extends through openings at the upper ends of the side bars of its frame, is mounted in bearings on hangers 77 which are suspended from the shaft of the upper conveyer.

The frame in which the last-mentioned conveyer is mounted consists of parallel bars 7 8 which are connected by arches 7 9. The upper end of the frame is supported on the upper conveyer shaft 74 and the lower end of the same is suspended from the rod 60 between the shanks 56 of the digging blade 55, by means of coiled springs 80.

in opposite direc- The upper conveyer is driven by two sprocket-chains 81 which coeperate with sprocketwheels 82 on its upper shaft and corresponding wheels 83 of larger diameter on the driving axle 16 of the machine. The sprocket wheels 82 are loose on the conveyer and sliding spring-urged clutches 84- are provided to establish their rotative continuity with the same.

One of the clutches is attached to a bellcrank lever 85 which by means of a link 86 is connected with the adjusting lever 65 of the digging element, andthe other clutch connects with one of two linked levers 87 and 88 which are operatively connected with the bell-crank 85 of the other clutch by a rod 89. I

It will be seen that by adjustment of the lever 65 the blades of the digging element may be raised to an inoperative position and the two clutches simultaneously released from the respective sprocket wheels to dischain 91 is connected with a slmilar wheel 92 of smaller diameter on the counter shaft 7 ll which drives the rotating broom.

The lower conveyer .71 is driven by a chain 93 which engages a sprocket on its'upper and rearnrost shaftand a corresponding wheel 95 on a counter-shaft 96 which ismounted on one of the hangers T7 and which by means of two gear-wheels 9'7 and 98 is operatively connected with the driving shaft of the upper conveyer.

The upper conveyer carries a series of pivoted equidistantly disposed drags 99 each consisting of a transverse by a pair of parallel arms. which at their outer ends are pivoted on lugs 100 on links of the two parallel chains of the conveyer.

A cradle composed of two convergently disposed series of parallel bars 101 is rigidly secured in the space between the two conveyers to receive the blades of the falling drags on the underside of the conveyer on which they are mounted, and guide them in blades of the digglngelement before they wheel at the shaft of blade connected close proximity to the lower conveyer whose enter the cradle and by the movement of the conveyer draw the beets which were lifted from the soil by the action of the blades, one by one onto the upper surface of the lower conveyer.

The pivotal movement of the upper conveyer about the axis of its upper shaft and the pivotal connection of the drags permit of a self-adjustment of the parts in accordance with the varying sizes of the beet-roots which in the operation are transferred from the blades of the digging element onto the lower conveyer. Both large and small roots are thus removed from the digging element and separately delivered onto the transverse conveyer with facility and without danger of injury or displacement.

The transverse conveyer '72 which receives the roots discharged from the conveyer 71 is preferably composed of interconnected barlinks and is supported upon cogged wheels on three parallel shafts 103, 10st and 105 mounted in bearings on cross-bars 106 at the rear end of the frame of the machine.

"The conveyer 72 slants upwardly toward the mouth of the before-mentioned chute 69 and its lower shaft carries a beveled pinion 107 which meshes with a correspondingly beveled gear-wheel 108 on a stud-shaft 109 supported on the adjacent side bar of the supporting frame of the machine.

A chain 110 cooperating with sprocket wheels 112 and 113 on the stud shaft 109 and the driving shaft 7% of the upper conveyer provides the medium by which the transverse conveyer is driven in the operation of the machine.

In the operation of. our invention the topped beets are lifted vertically from the ground by the movement of the blades of the digging element, passing at opposite sides thereof, and are held in a substantially up right position in the space between the blades until engaged by the drags on the upper conveyer.

The drags on the upper conveyer which overhangs the digging element, move through the space between the cutting blades, from the forward end thereof and convey the lifted beets one by one onto the upper surface of the lower conveyer which discharges them onto the transverse conveyer, and the last-mentioned conveyer delivers its load into the chute through which it passes to fall either onto the ground or in wagons or other receptacles moving or placed at the side of the machine.

The driver of the machine who occupies the seat 14. guides the machine in the desired direction by pressure on the foot-lever which controls the movements of the casterwheels.

By adjustment of the lever 4% he regulates the position of the topping appliance and the broom with relation to the surface of the ground or places these parts in an inoperative position.

The lever which like the other levers is placed within easy reach of the driver, controls the operative connection of the con veying apparatus with the driving axle of the machine and at the same time regulates the position of the digging element relative to the surface of the ground.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters- Patent is:

1. In a beet harvesting machine, the combination of a digging element for lifting roots from the soil, composed of two laterally converging blades adapted to admit and support the lifted roots between them, an endless conveyer overhanging the digging element, drags having a limited pivotal movement on the conveyer to fall into the space between the blades at the forward end thereof and move rearwardly through the same for the conveyance of the lifted roots, a second conveyer extending rearward of the dig ing element to provide a support for the beets conveyed by the drags, and a cradle consisting of conveying members at opposite sides of the second conveyer, which support the drags on the lower stretch of the upper conveyer, above the upper stretch of the second conveyer.

2. In a beet harvesting machine, the combination of a digging element for lifting roots from the soil, composed of two laterally converging blades adapted to admit and support the lifted roots between them, an endless conveyer overhanging the digging element, drags having a limited pivotal movement on the conveyer to fall into the space between the blades at the forward end thereof and move rearwardly through the same for the conveyance of the lifted roots, the drags being formed to loosely fit within the space between the blades of the digging element, and a second conveyer extending rearward of the element beneath the line of movement of the drags on the lower stretch of the upper conveyer, to pro vide a moving support for roots conveyed by the drags.

In testimony whereof we have aflixed our signatures.

WILLIAM K. LEWIS. DAVID T. BLEVINS. 

